interesting monsters, boring people

Rating: 6/10 (9 October 2013)

Robots versus monsters is a very Japanese thing, but that didn't stop an Italian director from making an English language version of one. The result is unfortunately closer in spirit to those old Godzilla movies than to the anime take on the genre. That is, there is little psychology or philosophy, even though the concept of two people working as one would seem to suit such things, and it takes itself quite seriously, with only a tiny bit of humor from some minor characters.
The thing that makes this movie worth watching is the action, with some really cool monsters having big, fairly entertaining battles with giant robots. Unfortunately, the movie drags whenever it gets back to the human beings who control those robots. The square-jawed hero, the eager newbie, the cocky jerk, the tough commander, all feel like characters you create when you're too lazy to think. Two weird scientists bring a little humor to their scenes, but only Ron Perlman manages to really stand out in a small but entertaining role.
Perhaps Del Toro should stick to Hellboy movies and leave the robot/monster fights to the Japanese